Romania election cancelled Russian meddling suspected - ListenHub

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Romania election cancelled Russian meddling suspected

ListenHub

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4-30

Frombbc

Romania is holding presidential elections again after the original vote was cancelled due to alleged interference.
Far-right candidate Calin Georgescu's victory was annulled amid accusations of Russian meddling, suspicious TikTok activity, and payments to online influencers. Moscow denies involvement.
Georgescu is now banned from running and faces a criminal investigation, including attempting to overthrow constitutional order.
The leader of the far-right AUR party, George Simion, is now polling as the frontrunner.
TikTok influencers are accused of artificially boosting Georgescu's online presence.
Georgescu, previously polling at 3-5%, focused on TikTok videos and went viral, winning almost 23% of the vote.
Authorities allege TikTok's algorithm was exploited through paid influencers, inauthentic accounts, and a "King of TikTok" who paid thousands to facilitate the campaign.
One campaign was reportedly "identical" to a Russian operation in Ukraine.
Declassified intelligence documents indicate Russia carried out "cyberattacks, leaks, and sabotage" in Romania, but concrete evidence of election interference is lacking.
Influencers were paid to upload videos with general messages like "stability and integrity," without naming a candidate.
Influencers described a "wave of comments" supporting Georgescu under their videos.
TikTok removed over 27,000 inauthentic accounts posting comments related to the Romanian elections.
The Romanian Tax Authority revealed the #stabilityandintegrity campaign was paid for by the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), who claimed their campaign was hijacked to support Georgescu.
TikTok influencer Bogdan Peschir, known as the "King of TikTok," was arrested for "corrupting voters through electronic means of communication" by allegedly paying influencers via TikTok gifts.
Musician and influencer Lucian Elgi admitted being paid thousands of dollars by Peschir via TikTok gifts, but denied promoting Georgescu. His videos, along with others paid by Peschir, have been removed.
Investigations are ongoing, and it could take years to fully understand why the elections were cancelled.

Outline

Romania is holding presidential elections again after the original vote was cancelled due to alleged interference.
Far-right candidate Calin Georgescu's victory was annulled amid accusations of Russian meddling, suspicious TikTok activity, and payments to online influencers. Moscow denies involvement.
Georgescu is now banned from running and faces a criminal investigation, including attempting to overthrow constitutional order.
The leader of the far-right AUR party, George Simion, is now polling as the frontrunner.
TikTok influencers are accused of artificially boosting Georgescu's online presence.
Georgescu, previously polling at 3-5%, focused on TikTok videos and went viral, winning almost 23% of the vote.
Authorities allege TikTok's algorithm was exploited through paid influencers, inauthentic accounts, and a "King of TikTok" who paid thousands to facilitate the campaign.
One campaign was reportedly "identical" to a Russian operation in Ukraine.
Declassified intelligence documents indicate Russia carried out "cyberattacks, leaks, and sabotage" in Romania, but concrete evidence of election interference is lacking.
Influencers were paid to upload videos with general messages like "stability and integrity," without naming a candidate.
Influencers described a "wave of comments" supporting Georgescu under their videos.
TikTok removed over 27,000 inauthentic accounts posting comments related to the Romanian elections.
The Romanian Tax Authority revealed the #stabilityandintegrity campaign was paid for by the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), who claimed their campaign was hijacked to support Georgescu.
TikTok influencer Bogdan Peschir, known as the "King of TikTok," was arrested for "corrupting voters through electronic means of communication" by allegedly paying influencers via TikTok gifts.
Musician and influencer Lucian Elgi admitted being paid thousands of dollars by Peschir via TikTok gifts, but denied promoting Georgescu. His videos, along with others paid by Peschir, have been removed.
Investigations are ongoing, and it could take years to fully understand why the elections were cancelled.

Script

Mia: Okay, so I heard something crazy went down in Romania. The presidential election got canned, like, totally scrapped at the last minute. Apparently, everyone's pointing fingers at Russia?

Mars: You got it. They pulled the plug because suspicion arose that Moscow, or at least people playing Moscow’s game, were messing with things. TikTok was the main battleground, apparently.

Mia: TikTok?! Seriously? Spill the tea!

Mars: Picture this: there's this fringe candidate, Călin Georgescu, nobody's ever heard of him, right? Like, polling at maybe 3%. Suddenly, boom! He's at almost 23%. All thanks to viral TikTok videos, paid influencers, and this hashtag, #stabilityandintegrity.

Mia: Woah, so like, a political flash mob kind of thing?

Mars: Exactly. They literally paid these TikTok stars to post vague videos about stability and integrity, without even mentioning Georgescu. And then the comments section just exploded with Yeah, let's do this! You guessed it... probably from fake accounts.

Mia: Wait a sec... you're saying they had like, bot armies commenting?

Mars: Oh yeah. TikTok nuked something like 27,000 fake accounts that were buzzing about the Romanian election. And this one dude, Bogdan Peschir, they're calling him the King of TikTok, got arrested for funnelling virtual gifts, you know, those virtual coins, to the influencers.

Mia: Virtual coins turned into real political power? That’s like, hacking public opinion on a whole new level.

Mars: Totally! It's like paying buskers in bubblegum to shout campaign slogans, but online. And get this: this Russian intel doc says their guys ran cyberattacks, leaks, and sabotage in Romania. No smoking-gun proof of direct election hacking, but the patterns are eerily familiar. Apparently, they ran a similar gig in Ukraine not too long ago.

Mia: I heard the guy's own party boss got a ban, right?

Mars: Spot on. Courts nixed his win, banned him from running, and are investigating him for allegedly trying to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, George Simion, the head of the AUR party, is now leading in the polls. Total 180.

Mia: What about the center-right party, PNL? Were they in on it?

Mars: Oh, it gets messier. The Romanian tax authority found that the #stabilityandintegrity campaign was actually bankrolled by PNL. They're claiming someone hijacked their campaign to boost Georgescu.

Mia: Like your credit card getting nicked and used to buy fireworks at someone else's wedding.

Mars: Bingo! You wake up, your money's gone, and you have to explain to your accountant why there's a bill for a petting zoo. PNL says they're the victims, but the authorities are still trying to sort it out.

Mia: So, the bottom line is: the election got binned because of this cocktail of paid influencers, dodgy TikTok algorithms, possible Russian schemes, and questionable payments. They're going to rerun the election?

Mars: Exactly. They're hitting the reset button, hoping to avoid all the digital shenanigans. It'll probably take ages to trace every penny, fake account, and backroom message, but for now, Romania's giving it another shot.

Mia: Wow, that's fascinating and scary that a few online videos and virtual gifts can disrupt a national election.

Mars: It’s a serious wake-up call. Social media isn't just cat videos. It's the new political battlefield. We ignore it at our own peril.

Mia: Alright, that’s our deep dive into “Romania election cancelled—Russian meddling suspected.” Stay tuned for Round Two.

Mars: And keep an eye on those TikTok feeds, you never know who's pulling the strings.